Adam Cole Discusses Seeing Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, and Seth Rollins Succeed in WWE, Reflects on His 2013 WWE Tryout, More

– Adam Cole recently appeared on The Ross Report (transcript via wrestlinginc.com), here are the highlights….

On Seeing Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, and Seth Rollins Succeed in WWE: “Yeah, it’s very cool and seeing those guys succeed is something, again, that I knew they were capable of. It was just wondering whether or not they were going to get the chance to do it. And now, they’ve been given the chance. Look, Kevin’s WWE Universal Champion now, so I’m really, really proud of those guys, both as coworkers and as friends.”

On Being Friends With Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn: “I’m really close with Sami Zayn. I’m really, really close with Kevin Owens. We talk practically every day. He was a guy who really, really helped me, both in Ring Of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. He was a guy who really believed in me, believed in my abilities, and really helped me, so I think Kevin, as far as understanding an audience and knowing how to make them cheer, how to make them boo. I do think Kevin is one of the best at understanding a crowd, just the way he is with speaking and the way he puts matches together, so I’ve learned a ton from him.”

On Rumors of His ROH Status: “Well, first and foremost, I think that the reason the rumors have kind of settled down as far as WWE discussion is it actually recently, a couple of months ago, got out when my Ring Of Honor contract is up. Before, everyone was kind of guessing when it was going to be and it seemed like every time I lost a match, [people would say], ‘oh, Adam Cole is on his way out – he’s going to NXT’, so that created a lot of interesting discussion. But, yeah, regarding the WWE thing, and this is the most truthful answer I can give you and it may seem like I’m beating around the bush, but it’s the truth: I haven’t really thought about it too much. And the reason being is, I just won the Ring Of Honor World Championship back. I’m about to start my career in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. I have to focus all of my mindset, all of my heart into making this run in New Japan the best I possibly can and making this run with the Ring Of Honor world title as best as I possibly can. But, of course, J.R., going off on the WWE thing, if I were to tell you I don’t want to have a WrestleMania moment someday, I’d be lying to you. I’d be lying! Of course I do. It’s just a matter of when this contract comes up, where I’m at, where WWE is at, where Ring Of Honor is at, so so many things can change in these next couple of months. But, yeah, right now, I’m just focusing all my energy on doing really well over in New Japan and trying to do my best with the Ring Of Honor world title.”

On His 2013 WWE Tryout: “I actually did a tryout with the WWE in 2013 and I remember thinking there were quite a few ‘yeses’. I remember thinking I was going to end up going [to WWE] and I was so excited. And then, it ended up being a ‘no, let him get more experience and then we’ll take a look at him later.’ And that was the best thing that ever happened to me as far as my career. If I would’ve gotten signed when I was 23 years old, I weighed a lot less, didn’t have the proper experience of dealing with pressure and pay-per-view main events, traveling the world, yeah, yeah, I wouldn’t be where I’m at. So now I look at it and say, ‘oh, man, I’m in a better spot. So, timing, obviously, you can’t always control, but I’m fortunate [for] the timing that has been put in front of me right now.”